Our Company
Management Team
An experienced team of leaders from the solar photovoltaic and silicon industries guides Canadian Solar progress at the board and senior management levels.
Board of Directors
Shawn Qu [download bio]
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Shawn Qu is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, one of the world's largest solar power companies. Dr. Qu has been chairman, president and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar since founding the company in 2001. Through his leadership Canadian Solar became a public listed company on NASDAQ in 2006 and has since firmly established itself among the top ranked manufacturers of solar photovoltaic products globally. Prior to founding Canadian Solar, Dr. Qu held various positions in product engineering, business development and strategic planning at ATS Automation Tooling Systems, Inc. and its solar subsidiary Photowatt International S.A. Prior to ATS Dr. Qu was a research scientist at Ontario Power Generation where he worked as a process leader in its solar product commercialization team. In 2011 Dr. Qu became a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious universities in China. Dr. Qu has published research articles in academic journals including IEEE Quantum Electronics, Applied Physics Letter and Physical Review. He received a Ph.D. in material sciences in 1995 from the University of Toronto, focusing on semiconductor super lattice and optical effects. He also holds a Master of Science in physics from University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Science in applied physics from Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Robert McDermott [download bio]
Independent Director
Mr. Robert McDermott became an independent director of Canadian Solar in August 2006. Mr. McDermott is a partner with McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP, a business and commercial law firm based in Canada that he joined in 1971. He practices business law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, mining, securities and corporate finance, involving both Canadian and international transactions. Mr. McDermott also advises boards and special committees of public companies in Canada on matters of corporate governance. From 1997 to 2001, he was a Director and senior officer and a member of the audit committee of Boliden Limited, a mining company listed on the Toronto and Stockholm stock exchanges. Recent engagements involved serving as an advisor to the special committees of public companies in Canada involving an acquisition, reorganization for forming an REIT and corporate governance matters. Mr. McDermott is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Canada Tax Foundation, International Bar Association and Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute. He was called to the Bar 1968. Mr. McDermott received his Law degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Lars-Eric Johansson [download bio]
Independent Director
Mr. Lars-Eric Johansson became an independent director of CSI in August 2006. Mr. Johansson has worked in finance and has controlled positions in Canada and Sweden for more than thirty years. Since May 2004, he has been an Executive Vice President and the Chief Financial Officer of Kinross Gold Corporation, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed gold mining company. During the period between June 2002 and November 2003, Mr. Johansson was an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Noranda Inc. Mr. Johansson was last serving as a special advisor at Noranda Inc. until May 2004. From 1989 to May 2002, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Falconbridge Limited, a mining and metals company in Canada dually listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the surviving company in its merger with Noranda Inc. in 2005. Mr. Johansson is a Lead Director and the Chairperson of the audit committee and corporate governance committee of Aber Diamond Corporation, a precious stones mining company dually listed on NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange. He has also chaired the audit committee of Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold and silver mining company dually listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange, since July 2006. He is also a director of Tiberon Minerals Ltd. and Novicor Inc., both listed companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mr. Johansson holds an MBA, with a major in finance and accounting, from Gothenburg School of Economics in Sweden.
Michael G. Potter [download bio]
Director
Mr. Michael G. Potter has served as a board director since September, 2007. He was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. in July, 2011. Mr. Potter has worked in finance, controlling and audit positions with a variety of multinational companies for over 20 years, serving most recently as Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation. Before joining Lattice, Mr. Potter was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NeoPhotonics Corporation and before that Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of STATS ChipPAC Inc., a leading semiconductor assembly and test services company based in Singapore. Before he joined STATSChipPAC, Mr. Potter held a variety of executive positions at Honeywell Inc. Mr. Potter is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University, Canada and a Diploma of Public Accountancy from McGill University, Canada.
Dr. Harry E. Ruda, [download bio]
Independent Director
Dr. Harry E. Ruda became an Independent Director of Canadian Solar in July 2011. Dr. Ruda currently serves as Director of the Centre for Advanced Nanotechnology, the Stanley Meek Chair in Nanotechnology and Professor of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. He obtained his PhD in semiconductor physics from MIT in 1982. From 1982 to 1984, he developed one of the first theories for electron transport in selectively doped two dimensional electron gas heterostructures, while working as an IBM post-doctoral fellow. From 1984 to 1989, he was a senior scientist at 3M Corporation, developing some of the first models for electronic transport and optical properties of wide bandgap II-VI semiconductors. Dr. Ruda joined the faculty of the University of Toronto in 1989 in the Material Science and Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments. His research interests focus on the fabrication and modeling of semiconductor nanostructures with applications in the fields of optoelectronics and sensing. Dr. Ruda is one of the founders of a Canadian National Centre of Excellence in Photonics. He has served on the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada and on other government panels, including those of the DOE, EPA and NSF in the United States and the RAE and EPSRC in the UK. Dr. Ruda is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.